


We Can Have A Little Christmas (As A Treat)

by roxypony



Series: Dirty Chai AU [6]
Category: Cirque du Freak | The Saga of Darren Shan - Darren Shan
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Gen, Happy Family, M/M, Parenthood, Romance, everything is easy and nothing hurts yet, just another day in vampire mountain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:26:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28181607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roxypony/pseuds/roxypony
Summary: Holiday companion to the Dirty Chai AU. Three short stories. Three Christmases Mika and Kurda will never forget.
Relationships: Mika Ver Leth/Kurda Smahlt
Series: Dirty Chai AU [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1840576
Comments: 5
Kudos: 9





	1. The First Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Sometimes less is more. Bigger isn't always better!" Kurda protested. Mika raised his eyebrows dubiously.
> 
> "Smahlt, are you projecting some self-esteem issues onto a tree? Is that what's happening here?"
> 
> "Get your mind out of the gutter. You know a bigger tree means more square footage to decorate, right?" Said Kurda, hands on his hips impatiently. Mika shrugged, as if he hadn't been complaining relentlessly about Christmas for the past hour and a half.
> 
> ***
> 
> Gracie is three. Mika and Kurda are reasonably competent co-parents (if not quite friends) at this point. So upon belatedly realizing "Santa" is scheduled to visit Vampire Mountain in a few short hours, what else can they do but stay up all night to throw together a last-minute Christmas for their little princess?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy December 19th, friends! Of all the Christmas stories I've done over the years, I've never been this early posting it! With that said, this is the first of 3 mini-stories. So it's still possible the final part won't appear til like 11pm on Christmas Eve. Whatever.
> 
> Nothing intense here. Just enough syrupy sweetness to rot your teeth. Which is what we all need at this point in the year. Bloodline is on hiatus til after the holiday so I can lose myself in these, and properly enjoy writing them.
> 
> If you just randomly found this and aren't familiar with the Dirty Chai AU, uhh basically Mika and Kurda accidentally adopted an orphan human together. She's like 25 at this point in the main DCU timeline, but this particular mini-story would take place early in This Is Us, when she's about three. Mika and Kurda not in love at this point, and although groundwork is being set, they're not even really friends yet. They're like workplace nemeses who are just doing their best to be good dads. I dunno, there's no good way to summarize the DCU without it sounding dumb, but I promise it's like... not the actual worst. Just don't overthink it.
> 
> Enjoy!

The thing about raising a small child in Vampire Mountain while also working a full time job is that your childcare options are fairly limited. Mika and Kurda couldn't exactly check Gracie into the local daycare centre when their schedules required their full concentration.

Council was a month away, so the mountain was already in a state of organized chaos. And on this particular day, Mika was supervising back-to-back Trials of Initiation for some General prospects, and for obvious reasons he didn't think his three year old needed to spectate those. And Kurda was off mapping caverns in the north end of the mountain - it was always the coldest down there, so he figured it would be better not to strap Gracie to his back as he sometimes did when he worked on his cartography.

But when you're a Vampire Prince, you can say things like, "Here, hold my baby." and not only will people hold your baby, they'll guard that baby with their life. Because they know if that baby gets one single scratch on your watch, it's a one-way trip down the Hall of Final Voyage for you. So yeah, Mika was pretty good at finding child care on short notice.

But he didn't have to go that far today, because it just so happened that Arrow was free for a few hours while Mika wasn't. Now, they could have just switched. Arrow could have presided over the trials to free up Mika for Gracie time. But Mika never wanted to give off the impression that his abrupt entry into fatherhood had tempered his dedication to the only other thing in the world he loved: his job. And Uncle Arrow really, really enjoyed his Gracie time. It was a win for everyone. So off Mika went, leaving Arrow and Gracie in charge of the Hall of Princes for the majority of the day.

But in hindsight, Mika sort of wished he'd plunked Gracie into the arms of the nearest mountain guard rather than leave her with Arrow. Although it worked out in the end, Arrow's complete and utter lack of forethought caused some pretty significant inconvenience.

Mika picked Gracie up from the Hall of Princes, thanked Arrow for babysitting, then set about putting her to bed. As he was tucking her in, she had a few words for which Mika was woefully unprepared.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, Princess?"

"When will Santa get here?"

Gods fucking damn it, Arrow! Mika thought to himself. He didn't always keep track of the date, but a bit of quick mental math suggested today was indeed December 24th. Inwardly, Mika kicked himself. Outwardly, he smiled and told Gracie "not til you're asleep".

He quickly located his partner-in-parenthood. Kurda was just on the way in to bid Gracie goodnight as Mika was leaving. But Mika grabbed him by the arm and looked him dead in the eye as though preparing for battle.

"Smahlt, we have a problem."

***

Arrow was benignly picking dirt from beneath his nails with a massive hunting knife when Mika came barreling back into then Hall of Princes with a vengeance. And he wasn't alone, Kurda was trotting along behind him looking mildly annoyed. It was one thing for Mika to be in a mood, but considering Kurda's usually sunny disposition, that was a little alarming.

"You're back!" Arrow greeted Mika with an oblivious smile.

"Arrow, I need you to explain to me why the ever-loving fuck you felt the need to tell my extremely impressionable three-year-old that SANTA CLAUS is coming to Vampire Mountain tonight?"

"Because... today is Christmas Eve?" Said Arrow slowly, frowning as though expecting this to be a trick question.

"Since when do you look at calendars?" Kurda groaned, unable to keep himself from scolding the tattooed Prince. "Since when do you even know what month it is?!"

It wasn't that Mika and Kurda didn't want to do the whole Christmas thing with the little girl they'd accidentally adopted. They were just so damn busy that particular week. And seeing as they were cut off from the entire rest of the world, they could have celebrated Christmas in July and Gracie would've had a grand time regardless. Part of Mika couldn't blame his friend for his well-intentioned slip. Arrow had raised several children during his marriage to Sarah, and he always had a wistful, adoring look in his eyes whenever he mentioned them. Having Gracie around gave him an opportunity to flex his long-forgotten paternal skills. And Mika thought that was great. The timing of this was just so awful.

So that's the brief summary of how Sire Mika Ver Leth and General Kurda Smahlt found themselves in a mad dash to scramble together a last-minute Christmas that was worthy of the grand tales Arrow had spent hours weaving.

They had maybe an hour til sunrise, so the first order of business was to head out to the woods and find a Christmas tree. Mika grabbed a battle axe from the armoury, and off they went.

"Would you quit swinging that thing around? You're going to take my head off." Kurda winced as they stalked through the sea of evergreens.

"Smahlt, I'll have you know I was undefeated in the axe tournament for three councils in a row in my General days." Mika shot back, continuing to spin the axe lazily in his hand. "I could trim your fingernails with this thing if I wanted to."

Kurda rolled his eyes, but didn't get around to delivering a retort because at that moment he spied the perfect Christmas tree. It was a young tree, maybe four feet tall. The trunk wasn't too thick, but the branches were beautifully full. It was just right.

Mika wasn't convinced.

"It's tiny." He observed, frowning.

"So is Gracie, and so is her room." Kurda reasoned.

"Her room is narrow but the ceiling is high." Mika corrected him. "We could fit a tree twice this tall in there."

"Sometimes less is more. Bigger isn't always better!" Kurda protested. Mika raised his eyebrows dubiously.

"Smahlt, are you projecting some self-esteem issues onto a tree? Is that what's happening here?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter. You know a bigger tree means more square footage to decorate, right?" Said Kurda, hands on his hips impatiently. Mika shrugged, as if he hadn't been complaining relentlessly about Christmas for the past hour and a half.

"Well, we're committed now. A Princess deserves the nicest tree in the forest." He said with complete conviction.

"For the hundredth time, Mika: she's not technically a Princess and if you don't stop calling her one she's going to develop a ego complex." Kurda scolded him. "Do you want her to turn out like you?"

Mika shot Kurda a quizzical stare. And Kurda rolled his eyes again.

"Of course you do. What a stupid question." The blond General replied drily.

Mika said nothing for a moment. He rotated slowly on the spot, carefully analyzing the other tree options.

"That one." He declared at last, wasting no time landing a heavy axe blow into the base of a full-figured eight-foot spruce.

Kurda threw his hands up in exasperation but couldn't help but feel slightly amused. Mika Ver Leth was a fascinating person to observe. He was so calculated and responsible. But every now and then, he just did whatever the fuck he wanted, for no apparent reason other than that he could.

***

Mika did most of the heavy lifting, literally, to get the tree back up through the mountain til it was standing upright in his room. They had to proceed with a certain amount of stealth; as Gracie was snoozing next door.

Ornaments were next. Vampire Mountain didn't have much in the way of interior decor so they had to get a little creative. This was Kurda's time to shine.

"Alright, this box is full of outdated maps and old paperwork nobody needs." Said Kurda briskly, shoving a box of paper into Mika's arms as they rummaged through a storage room. "I have a pair of scissors on my desk upstairs - we'll cut them into snowflakes. Oh, grab that roll of twine and that little box of rusty shurikans. They'll look like stars from a distance. We just need to hang them far enough up so she can't reach them. Hey, do you think the kitchen has any glass jars sitting around? We could put little candles in them-"

Mika was smarter, or more logical, than the average vampire, but all this was going over his head. He didn't understand how Kurda could take one tour around that dusty old storage room and see any sort of potential for Christmas decorations. All Mika saw were boxes of junk.

But Kurda clearly knew exactly what he was doing, because in less than two hours, Mika's room had transformed into a festive, glowing, wonderland. The paper had been cut into dozens and dozens of snowflake shapes which added a pop of brightness to the tree, and the leftover scraps had been sprinkled around the room to look like snow. There were little candles everywhere (all on high surfaces out of Gracie's reach), the tree was trimmed beautifully, and the excess branches had been cut off and re-purposed into wreaths which adorned the walls. It was simple and beautiful. Mika's one contribution to the decor was the large shuriken he'd polished and tied to the top of the tree like a star, only because Kurda couldn't reach quite that high.

Once that was complete, they stood back and admired their handiwork.

"This actually looks nice." Mika declared.

"Of course it does. Did you doubt me?" Kurda asked, glancing sideways at Mika.

"No comment." Said Mika. "Alright, so what are we putting under the tree?"

"I thought of that. I went to the sporting halls while you were figuring out a tree stand." Said Kurda excitedly. He picked up a large, unmarked box he'd brought into the room during the decorating process. "They're still renovating in there, so I picked all these extra pieces of wood from the floor - I had to sand them down a little bit but it only took a minute. They're perfect building blocks!"

Mika looked into the box, sure enough it was full of little wooden squares and rectangles that almost looked like they could have been purchased at a toy store. Then he looked back up at Kurda. He was trying to hide it, but his eyes betrayed the fact that he was legitimately impressed.

"That... was a great idea." He said slowly. "I never would have thought of it."

"I'm more than just a pretty face." Said Kurda with an impish grin.

"Whatever. We also have that bag of clothes we got last time we flitted to the village. Remember?" Said Mika, eyes suddenly alight. "She hasn't seen them yet. We got them a size too big on purpose, knowing she'd grow into them. They'll probably fit by now. We can wrap them up and put them under the tree."

"I'd forgotten about those!" Kurda exclaimed. "Gods, that's convenient."

"And Paris picked up this paint set last time he went travelling!" Mika added triumphantly. He yanked open the largest drawer on his desk and withdrew the little tray containing many colours of paint and a collection of brushes. "Here it is! I was saving it for her birthday, but we can figure something else out for that."

"Good idea." Kurda affirmed. "Especially since we don't know when her birthday is."

"We decided it's going to be the anniversary of when we found her, remember?" Said Mika.

"Right." Kurda agreed with a fondly reminiscent sparkle in his blue eyes. "Okay, let's get all this wrapped. We might even have time to get a few hours of sleep before the festivities begin."

***

The wrapping would be simple; they'd use paper and twine. It would fit the rustic-antique aesthetic of the rest of the room. They both sat down on the floor and got to work.

"Gods, I would've killed for something like this when I was her age." Said Kurda wistfully as he wrapped the paint set with an almost reverential level of care. "My family was dirt poor. The best Christmas gift I ever got was a pair of socks."

"Nothing wrong with socks. I love socks." Said Mika offhandedly. He was occupied with wrapping the collection of new clothes. It was a sea of pastel colours, except for one tiny black t-shirt. (Mika figured it would be fun to match every now and then). Kurda arched an eyebrow at him.

"What about you?" Kurda asked.

"Huh?"

"What was the best Christmas gift you ever got as a child? If any?" Kurda pressed.

"Uh... one year my brothers and I all got horses. That was fun." Said Mika. Kurda cocked his head like a confused puppy.

"Like, rocking horses? Or figurines?"

"No. Actual horses." Said Mika, with a sheepish sort of smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Charna's guts. How many brothers did you have?!"

"Just five."

"JUST five?! My gods. How nice that must have been." Kurda remarked. "I don't know where you grew up, but in my village, only the wealthiest of the wealthy owned horses. So needless to say, my family walked everywhere."

Mika's expression shifted into something that could only have been interpreted as guilt with a bit of embarrassment, and Kurda's eyes widened.

"I see. You were one of those." The blond scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I should've known. That makes so much sense."

"Money doesn't buy happiness, Smahlt." Mika muttered. He kept his eyes on the package he was neatly tying together with twine.

"Of course it doesn't. But it buys food. Shelter. I'm willing to bet you never went hungry just so your siblings could eat while your parents cried in the other room. I bet you didn't have to get a job at age six, if ever." Kurda replied in a clipped tone that starkly contrasted from his usual cadence . Mika sighed and glared up at him.

"Are you trying to make me feel guilty for something I had no control over? Or do you want me to pity you?" Mika growled. "What exactly are you hoping to accomplish with this conversation? We both ended up in the same place eventually."

Kurda exhaled heavily and ran a hand through his thick, platinum hair.

"You're right. I'm sorry." The General groaned. "We didn't choose where we were born. I just... I just want Gracie to have better Christmas memories than I did. That's all."

"Yeah well, so do I." Said Mika, looking back down moodily at the parcel of clothes in his hands. He slid it under the tree then leaned back against the wall.

Kurda set the wrapped paint set under the tree next as well, and glared dubiously at Mika who was giving him a similar look in return.

"What, you want to get her TWO horses instead of one?" Kurda quipped. "I wouldn't even know where to find ONE."

"No, Kurda!" Mika snapped back, clearly struggling to keep his voice low enough to not wake Gracie. Kurda looked up at him sharply - Mika didn't always address Kurda by his first name so the odd time he did, it always caught his attention. "Listen, I'm sorry you grew up like that. And you're right, I can't relate. But I know this much: I would've traded all those gifts for my parents to love me. Or even to pretend for a day. But we can't change where we came from, so let's just give Gracie the best of both worlds. Because we can. End of discussion."

Kurda smiled wryly, meeting Mika's eyes as though understanding him for the first time that day.

"My family used to light home-made candles, tell stories, and sing carols for hours... it was one of the only things we could do that didn't cost anything." Said Kurda softly. "But we had each other, and we were healthy. And that was more than a lot of people had back then-"

"My point exactly. My parents would've rather eaten glass than do anything like that." Mika replied bitterly. "They only gave us horses so we'd spend more time outside the castle, away from them."

"-And if we sang loud enough, we couldn't hear our empty stomachs growling." Kurda continued earnestly.

Mika rolled his eyes and slowly ran his palm over his forehead and through his hair, giving off the impression that he was all the way done with this day.

"Okay, Smahlt. Now you're just trying to make me feel bad for the sake of it."

Mika slowly got to his feet and stretched; sitting on the floor had him a little stiff. He glanced warily down at Kurda, and although Mika harboured at least a bit of annoyance at the blond pacifist at any given time, he found himself having to force the glare that usually came effortlessly. Kurda was looking up at him with the purest expression of contentment Mika had ever seen.

"I'm not. Really." Kurda insisted. His blue eyes were shining earnestly, and Mika believed him. "None of that matters anymore. Look at us, we overcame crippling poverty and, uh... emotional neglect, and made something of ourselves. And look at us now."

Kurda remained seated on the floor for another moment, watching Mika stare thoughtfully into the neatly decorated tree. He didn't think he'd ever seen Mika look quite so relaxed. Although Mika was typically cool-headed (compared to vampires like Arrow or Vancha anyway), there was always a certain amount of well-disguised tension about him. Kurda had never really noticed it until the Gracie situation had them spending far too much time together. But standing in this cozy, candle-lit room, there was no trace of it. From his posture to the look in his eyes, he looked as though 'stress' wasn't even in his vocabulary. The way his well-muscled arms hung loosely at his sides, and his battle-scarred hands were tucked comfortably into his pockets. The way his normally steely, calculating eyes were focused on the tree with a sparkle of genuine wonderment... youthful, almost. Kurda wasn't entirely convinced he'd met this man before. He was still staring when Mika eventually glanced down at him. Kurda tried to look away but he wasn't quite quick enough.

"Enjoying the view, Smahlt?" Mika inquired. He arched an eyebrow and wrinkled his nose slightly, as though Kurda had just done something horrendously embarrassing.

"I'm trying. But you're blocking the tree." Kurda retorted swiftly.

"Well, I'm going to bed." Said Mika. "I'd say you could sit on my floor and stare it while I sleep, but that'd be weird. No offence."

"None taken." Kurda snorted. "I've had enough of you for one day anyway."

"Good." Said Mika with a curt nod. But he extended a hand to Kurda and helped pull him to his feet anyway.

"Alright, if I wake up before you, I'll bring Gracie in to open her presents." Kurda began. "But if you wake up before me-"

"I always wake up before you." Mika cut him off.

"Fine. WHEN you wake up before me, you'd better come get me." Kurda stated, pausing and glancing over his shoulder at Mika as he headed for the door. "Because if I miss our first Christmas because you forgot to include me... they'll never find your body."

"Wow. Giving me orders AND threats of bodily harm. You know you give me reasonable cause to have you arrested at least once a day, right?" Said Mika with a satisfied smirk, as he leaned casually against his large mahogany wardrobe. "Also, that'd make you a really shitty pacifist."

"Lock me up, then." Kurda shot back flippantly. "Good luck keeping Gracie in line on your own."

Mika rolled his dark, storm-grey eyes, but he looked more amused than anything else.

"Goodnight, General Smahlt."

"Goodnight, Sire Ver Leth."

***

There was something special about that first Christmas the three of them shared. It was beautiful in it's simplicity. Mika woke up first as he always did, then he slipped into Gracie's room and woke her up with a tickle. Her shriek of laughter woke Kurda up too, and so began the festivities.

Gracie was so overwhelmingly excited over the makeshift decorations, you'd swear they flew in the entire Rockefeller Christmas Tree from New York City. And then she saw the presents.

"Uncle Arrow was right! Santa found us!" She hollered in pure ecstasy, squirming out of Mika's arms and tearing into the nearest parcel rather aggressively. Soon the floor was littered with paper and bits of twine. She got into the paint set first.

"We should have done this in your room." Mika commented to Kurda as they watched flecks of yellow paint spatter the lid of his luxurious mahogany coffin. But Gracie carried on to paint an abstract rendering of Vampire Mountain that was made with so much passion, Mika couldn't complain about the mess left in her wake. He'd keep the painting forever.

They sat together for several hours; Kurda had cleared his schedule and Mika made sure Paris and Arrow knew he'd be unavailable for at least the first part of the day. They didn't mind a bit.

Gracie alternated between painting, trying on her new clothes, and building with the blocks. Kurda tried to give her some pointers on architecture. He had an eye for those things, spatial reasoning skills sort of went hand-in-hand with cartography. Gracie promptly ignored all of his advice, stacking tower after tower for no other reason than to give her best Godzilla impression.

"Remind me not to get on her bad side." Mika groaned as he ducked to avoid a flying block for the umpteenth time. "Gods, she could kill someone."

"Hey, Honey? Your other daddy forgot to get presents for Uncle Arrow and Papa Paris." Said Kurda with the air of a professional hostage negotiator, gently prying a block from her little fist before she could whip it like a hand grenade, while Mika chuckled from behind the tree. "Think you can paint a nice picture for them so they don't feel left out?"

So with great enthusiasm and no shortage of mess, she did just that. Then it was off to the Hall of Princes to deliver the art. Gracie was eager to tell Uncle Arrow and Papa Paris all about her Christmas gifts. Not to mention there was a meeting in progress and Mika supposed he should at least make an appearance. (Honestly, Kurda was just impressed he'd been able to subdue his inner workaholic for the majority of the day).

"Wow, Mika. Did you paint this all by yourself?!" Said Arrow with a grin as he examined the painting. "Is it... uh... oh, I know! It's a frog!"

To be fair, it was mostly a green blob with a few swipes of red here and there.

"No, stupid. It's a portrait of you. The red symbolizes your tattoos." Mika retorted drily, even as his eyes glinted with mirth. "It's called abstract. Educate yourself."

"Daddy didn't paint it! I painted it!" Gracie exclaimed, slapping her forehead with great exasperation, as if Uncle Arrow was truly a hopeless case.

"Oh! Why didn't you say so? This looks even better than I look in real life!" Arrow declared, holding the painting up so the conglomerate of nearby Generals could see it - the meeting had been put on hold as soon as Mika, Kurda, and Gracie wandered in. The Generals nodded approvingly and a few gave a thumbs-up. Paris and Arrow both hung the paintings up on the wall behind their thrones, to Gracie's delight.

"We have a little something for you too, my dear." Said Paris, a twinkle in his blue eyes.

"I get MORE?!" Gracie shouted.

"It's just a little present." Said Paris. "And it's not wrapped, I apologize..."

He reached behind his throne, and slid out... another throne. But a tiny one, a wooden, child-sized replica of the original four. It even had a little steel plate attached to the arm rest, just like the magic panels on the real thing. It was sturdy but lightweight so it could easily be moved into the little storage room when not in use. And best of all, it had 'Princess Grace' carved into the head.

"For me?!" She shrieked in disbelief, running to it.

"All yours! I don't believe anyone else here will fit into it." Paris confirmed.

"My throne doesn't even have my name on it." Mika remarked, noticing the engraving.

"You're not a Princess." Paris shot back with a wink.

"Excuse me, Sire Skyle? I'd like to debate that." Kurda contributed seriously, and Arrow let out a booming laugh. Mika shot Kurda a glare, like he did ten thousand times a week. But there wasn't any gravity behind it, in fact he looked almost as happy as the little girl testing out her very own throne.

"Now when you visit your father at work, you can advise him from the comfort of your own seat." Said Paris, smiling in satisfaction at her evident joy. Arrow slid the throne - with Gracie sitting in it - across the platform until it was parked right next to Mika's. Mika took a seat in his own throne and looked down at Gracie. She beamed proudly back up at him, as though she was right where she belonged in the world.

"How do we look?" Mika asked casually, glancing over at Kurda, who was unsuccessfully trying to mask his amusement.

"Do we really want two Ver Leths on duty at any given time?" Kurda replied mischievously. This elicited even more thunderous guffaws from Arrow, and a hearty chuckle from Paris as well.

"She's also a Smahlt, is she not?" Paris asked, grinning wider than before. "We can only hope your combined influences balance each other out."

Neither Kurda nor Mika could keep themselves from joining in the laughter at that one.

They spent the rest of the day in the Hall of Princes. Paris ended the meeting early and had the kitchen staff bring in trays of Christmas dinner. Everyone who was currently in the mountain began to filter into the Hall of Princes, and when the ale began to flow, so did the carolling. Soon the Hall was filled with laughter and off-key renditions of all the Christmas classics, and even some Hanukkah ones too. While vampires don't go out of their way to celebrate holidays, apparently it doesn't take much convincing to bring out their festive sides either.

It was the first Christmas Gracie would remember. Being around three years old, the memories would be vague on details as she grew older. But she'd remember the feeling, the delight of walking into the unexpected tree and gifts. How she'd spent the rest of the day surrounded by love and laughter. She wouldn't remember what songs they sang, but she would remember how Kurda sang with her, teaching her all the words, and the way his eyes - bright blue like hers - shone in the torchlight. And she'd remember how, even though she was completely in love with her little throne, she still ended up back in her favourite place eventually: in Mika's arms, while he sat in his own throne. Where she felt like the queen of the whole world.

More than anything else, she'd just remember being happy.


	2. The Surprise Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What are you looking at?" Kurda asked, tilting his head to the side curiously. Mika smiled and shrugged, and slid one of his hands up to settle on Kurda's hipbone. But with his other hand, he reached up and brushed a strand of platinum out of Kurda's eyes.
> 
> "My whole fucking world."
> 
> ***
> 
> Gracie won't be home for Christmas this year. So that means no festivities in Vampire Mountain, seeing they only ever celebrated for her sake. ...Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's ready for round 2?
> 
> I did bump the rating up from K+ to T because there's a bit of sexy time towards the end. But nothing explicit because even though I'm a grown-ass adult I can't write smut with a straight face. Idk, brains are weird. Either way, nothing scandalous to see here. Just enough syrupy fluff to rot the teeth right outta your head. 
> 
> Ho, ho, ho, Dirty Chai stans. This one's for you. Actually, it's for me. But I hope you enjoy it even half as much as I do!

Mika had left the Hall of Princes for literally one hour. He had to go down to give his input on some renovations that were currently progressing in the Aquatic Maze. Once he'd done that, he wandered back to pick up where he'd left off. Which had been a casual sort of think-tank session that had included himself, Arrow, and a handful of higher-ranking Generals. One of them being his relatively new significant other; Kurda Smahlt. They'd been properly together for almost half a year now, and everything was perfectly lovely.

Although that particular day wasn't great. When Mika got back, the first thing he saw was Kurda sitting in his (Mika's) throne, crying quietly with his face in his hands. Arrow was standing over him, looking highly inconvenienced. Arrow was patting Kurda's back with no small degree of awkwardness (while standing as far away from him as physically possible), and as Mika approached he shot him a grimace.

"I was gone for one hour! What the fuck happened?!"

He made a beeline to Kurda and wrapped his arms tightly around his distraught form, while glaring suspiciously up at Arrow. It was widely known that Kurda and Arrow didn't see eye-to-eye on just about anything. Perhaps Arrow had said something more rude than usual. But Mika knew for a fact Kurda could hold his own in a war of words. So this was strange.

"I didn't do anything!" Arrow grumbled reproachfully. It's your daughter, she just called -"

"She's not coming home for Christmas!" Kurda interrupted, barely coherent. Mika frowned in confusion.

"She's twelve. Where else would she go?" He asked gently.

Just to recap this point in their lives: Gracie attends a very nice boarding school for most of the year. She spends summers and Christmas break in Vampire Mountain. Mika and Kurda flit her back and forth as needed. It'a a win for everyone. Gracie gets to spend time with her unconventional but loving family. She also gets to be properly socialized and educated in the human world. Most importantly, she gets to have friends her own age. Lots of friends. And as it turned out, her friend Lola had invited her on a tropical cruise. Lola's older sister had decided to spend the holiday with her boyfriend instead, so the family had one extra non-refundable ticket. They told Lola she could invite a friend, and Gracie was the very enthusiastic first choice.

(Oh, and every human in Gracie's life is under the impression that her dads work top-secret government jobs that have them inaccessible for long periods of time. Luckily, that cover story doesn't seem all that odd against the backdrop of a fancy boarding school, so nobody really questions it).

"We don't have to let her go..." Mika apprehensively told a still-sniffling Kurda. They were now sitting side-by-side on one of the pews at the front of the room while Arrow carried on with the meeting.

"Of course we do. She's so excited, and when is she going to get an opportunity like that again?" Said Kurda, wiping his nose.

"Exactly. I want her to go." Said Mika calmly, relieved that they were ultimately on the same page with this. "I'll miss her too, but this is a good thing. She's normal, Kurda. She has friends. She's going to see parts of the world we couldn't show her. Imagine us on a cruise ship. We'd only be able to go out at night."

"Who even goes on a cruise over Christmas?" Kurda mumbled dispassionately as he rubbed at his eye with a sleeve.

"Rich people. Honestly, if I was human I wouldn't hesitate. It sounds like a great time." Said Mika. He was gently running his fingers through Kurda's hair as they sat together. Those trademark platium locks were always so bafflingly soft and shiny. Mika could've admired them all day.

"Assuming you'd be rich if you were a human." Kurda muttered.

"Come on, Kurda. If we were human I'd be CEO of a corporate law firm. I'd own two houses, three cars, and one boat. And you'd be a full-time social justice protestor or something. We've been over this." Said Mika seriously. That comment had the exact effect he desired - it made Kurda laugh.

"How are you handling this so well? You're making me feel like I'm overreacting." Kurda asked after a brief chuckle.

"You're not overreacting. It's hard losing one of the few weeks a year we get to spend with her." Said Mika as calmly as ever.

"I'm just happy she gets to do this... But I can cry if you want. Would that make you feel better?"

"You know what? Yeah. It would." Said Kurda balefully.

"Alright, give me a second."

Mika closed his eyes and assumed an expression of pure concentration, but after a minute or so he opened them again, and smiled apologetically back at Kurda.

"I got nothing - totally dry. Sorry, babe. Maybe later."

Kurda pressed his lips together and Mika could tell he was trying not to laugh.

"I'll put a note on your schedule then, shall I? Can you fit in an emotional breakdown at 6:00?" Said Kurda stiffly.

"6:00 will be tight. I have to meet with Vanez about amendments to trial preparation protocols later. How about 6:30?" Mika replied earnestly.

"Alright. I'll pencil that in." Said Kurda. "By the way, Gracie said one of us has to phone Lola's parents to give our permission. I call not it."

"Fine." Said Mika breezily. He dialled the number Gracie had given Kurda.

"Hi! Is this Mr. Smahlt-Ver Leth?" Lola's mom asked cheerily when she picked up.

"Sure." Said Mika. He barely managed to contain a snort of laughter at hearing someone address him that way. It was Gracie's proper last name on all her school documents so there was no reason for an oblivious fellow parent to assume he went by anything else. Still funny to him, though.

It was a quick conversation. Lola's parents assured him Gracie would be in excellent hands, and thanked him for allowing her to take the non-refundable ticket despite it being a holiday. Mika politely thanked them for their generosity, and that was that. Then they called Gracie back and gave her their blessing to have the time of her life on the cruise, and her shrieks of preteen glee were enough to ease the pain of missing her. She'd go home with Lola for Christmas break when classes ended the following day, and would depart on the cruise the day after that.

So no Gracie meant no Christmas in the mountain.

Vampires really don't care for holidays. Once you've been around for a few hundred years, it gets old. Plus, nobody wants to look "soft" next to all their peers. Although Mika and Kurda enjoyed the holiday traditions they curated over the years, they only really celebrated for Gracie's sake.

They'd always wanted her to have as many normal experiences as possible, to ease her eventual transition into the human world. So they started her on Christmas at age three. Their traditions were simple: haul a tree in from the forest, decorate, exchange a few presents, spend the day together, and eat some great food. But they both reluctantly agreed there was no point doing all of that if Gracie wasn't going to be there. When they did those things for Gracie, they looked like devoted dads. If they did it without Gracie, they'd look like festive idiots. So that settled it, Christmas wouldn't come to Vampire Mountain this year.

Hours passed since the phone call. Kurda was now in the other end of the mountain going over blueprints for a meeting room expansion with Seba. Blueprints are similar to maps in that Kurda is the only vampire in this place who can draw a half-decent one. And Mika was still in the Hall of Princes, the small meeting room behind the thrones to be specific, when the truth of the matter finally dawned on him, and he couldn't believe it took him that long to figure out why Kurda had taken the news so hard: Although co-parents for over a decade at this point, it was the first time they would have been celebrating the holiday as a legitimate couple. They'd always been Gracie's dads, but the recent shift in their relationship status added an entirely new, wonderful layer to their unconventional family.

But now... their daughter, their baby girl, the catalyst that brought them together, wouldn't be there. And that meant there wouldn't be a tree, or presents, or decorations... the things that had felt like such an inconvenience that first year. The things they knew they had no business getting excited about, yet had grown to love despite themselves. The things that had become a beloved piece of their life.

And THAT was why Kurda was so upset.

"Fuck." Said Mika loudly to himself, looking up from the meeting notes he'd been studying.

"Anything in particular?" Arrow asked, barely taking his eyes off his own paperwork.

"Are you good with finishing up here?" Mika asked, already out of his chair and heading for the door. "I have to go."

***

Mika really only had one option at this point. He cleared his entire schedule for the evening (cringing internally as he did so) and asked Paris to make up some special assignment for Kurda that would keep him busy til 6:30. Paris obliged, and Mika snuck out to chop down a Christmas tree.

It would be hard to top Gracie's reaction that year when she was three and woke up to a surprise Christmas tree, but if Mika went and did the same thing for Kurda when he was least expecting it... well, that might just come close. Mika would do all the work setting it up. That way, all Kurda needed to do was make himself comfortable and enjoy the view. Just another flawless battle strategy from the legendary mind of Mika Ver Leth.

Procuring the tree and hauling it up his room (which was now his and Kurda's room) was the easy part. He did that every year. But when it came to decorating it, Mika was always content to sit back and follow Kurda's lead. Mika wasn't a total write-off where finer details were concerned. He was better at decorating than say, Arrow or Vancha would have been. But he wasn't on Kurda's level. Kurda just had an eye for that kind of thing that Mika couldn't compete with. And it was one of the few competitions he didn't care to win.

On that first Christmas when they had to plan the entire thing with only hours notice, they decorated with whatever they could find lying around. Over the years they'd expanded their collection; picking up a few things here and there whenever they happened to pass through a human village. Now they had actual garland, tinsel, ornaments for the tree, velvet stockings, and even... battery-operated string lights.

And now all Mika had to do was organize it in a way that looked cozy and festive and visually appealing. But how?

He was used to knowing exactly what to do. Whether conducting a meeting, commanding a battle, or negotiating with a dangerous enemy - there was a good reason Mika Ver Leth held such an elite position at such a young age. He was the best at what he did.

Yet here he was, sitting on the floor in his room, amidst a sea of half-unpacked boxes containing sparkling objects that looked like they had no business being in Vampire Mountain - and really, they didn't - having not the slightest inkling of how to proceed. It wasn't that he thought he was too tough, or too cool, or too macho for this. He'd abandoned those pretences years ago. He simply didn't know where the fuck to start.

He did recall a few tree-trimming pointers Kurda had laid out a few years ago; when they'd first stepped their decor game up.

"Ornaments go on first. Then garland. Lights last." Kurda had said. At least, Mika was fairly confident that's what he said. So that was where he started.

***

Finally, it was 6:30. Kurda wandered into their room right on schedule. Mika had made sure to light the candles and added wood to the fireplace. All there was left to do was watch Kurda's face light up when he realized Mika had pulled off a surprise Christmas after all.

Mika had been sitting at his desk, and he stood up eagerly as he heard the door open. Finally, the energy and patience he'd put into all that decorating would be worth it.

Kurda stepped into the room and immediately stopped dead in his tracks, gawking at the decorations with his jaw hanging halfway to the floor.

"What's going on here?" Kurda asked tonelessly. Clearly it was taking him longer to process this than Mika thought it would. Any second now, that familiar smile would light his face.

"You get Christmas after all! I did all the work for you!" Said Mika triumphantly. "It's pre-decorated! Now you can sit back and enjoy the tree, and you don't even have to do anything. What do you think? I'm not as creative as you, but I think I did okay."

Kurda's face was frozen in such an intense mask of pure shock, Mika started to wonder if he was going into cardiac arrest. His confidence in this plan was faltering rapidly.

"Kurda, say something."

Kurda slowly rotated on the spot til he was facing Mika. And then, without warning, his shock morphed into such overpowering rage that Mika started to back away from him. Keep in mind, Mika has almost a foot of height and more than a few pounds of advantage over Kurda. Not to mention overall combat skills if it came to that. But the murderous anger in those usually angelic blue eyes was so blazing that Mika would have sooner grappled with a mad vampaneze or two in that moment.

"YOU GOT A TREE AND DECORATED IT WITHOUT ME?!" Kurda roared, his face turning redder than the ruby-coloured baubles that adorned the spruce branches. Mika raised his hands slowly, as though preparing to be arrested. But Kurda was having none of it. "MIKA VER LETH, I COULD STRANGLE YOU WITH THAT TINSEL!"

And with that, Kurda lost whatever little bit remained of his self-restraint and he charged at Mika, whacking him repeatedly with the rolled-up set of blueprints he'd been carrying.

"Hey! Ow! Fuck! Kurda, what are you- OW! Stop that!" Mika yelped as he attempted to dodge Kurda's determined assault. " Charna's Fucking Guts! OW! Would you just - OUCH - listen?!"

After several laps around the room, Mika finally managed to get a firm but gentle grip on both Kurda's forearms and halt the attack.

"Don't get me wrong, babe. I love when you get feisty. But this isn't very pacifist of you." Mika panted.

"I can't believe you! How could you do all this without me?" Kurda gasped, immobilized but glaring daggers back at Mika who was still trying to figure out what was going on.

"I'm starting to think I might have misjudged this a little bit." Said Mika as frankly as though he was commenting on the weather.

"Mika, I've spent this entire day being bitter because I was under the impression we WEREN'T doing Christmas!" Kurda shouted, still spitting mad. "We only ever did this for Gracie! So no Gracie meant no Christmas for us! We agreed, remember? And I made peace with that, because like you said, it would be stupid of us to do it without her, right? And then I come up here... only to find out you've gone and done all our traditions anyway - without even bothering to include me! Even though we're FINALLY together after all those years! What is WRONG with you?!"

Mika frowned while his brain worked furiously to process all that. He let go of Kurda's arms. Kurda turned away and slowly sunk down to the floor, with his back against the wall and his head in his hands. He wasn't crying but his overall aura of dejection was just as hard to look at.

Mika observed quietly for a moment, then cautiously joined Kurda on the floor. He sat shoulder-to-shoulder with his other half, then slid his arm around him. He knew Kurda wasn't truly angry at him - he could tell by the way the blond General leaned into the embrace rather than away from it.

"Okay. I think I see where I went wrong here. Took me a minute, but I got there in the end." Said Mika, his fingers tracing lazily around Kurda's upper arm. "It was never about the finished product, was it? The tree itself, and all the sparkly shit isn't as important to you. You were missing the time we spent on it together?" It was more of a question than a statement.

Kurda slowly tilted his head towards Mika so their foreheads were almost touching. Mika closed the sliver of distance between them by brushing his lips against Kurda's cheekbone. When he drew back, Kurda was looking up at him much more benignly than before. Although he still looked a touch expectant, like he was waiting for Mika to work through the last step of the equation.

"...And I blew a chance to make new memories because I didn't stop to think about it?" Mika added hopefully, as though making a last-ditch guess on a pass-or-fail exam.

Kurda sighed, and reached over to lace his fingers through Mika's, to run his thumb across the back of Mika's battle-scarred hand. He could feel Mika exhale contentedly as he did so. Gods, he was so fucking in love with this man.

"Well? Did I get it right?" Mika asked.

Kurda looked up at him again, and pressed a long, slow kiss against his lips which Mika wholeheartedly leaned into.

"Oh, baby. You're so smart when you think." Kurda murmured when their lips drew apart, just far enough to say those words before going back for more. The kiss was deep, sensual - conveying a million unsaid words. The fight was over - if it had even been a fight in the first place.

"I'm sorry, Kurda." Said Mika quietly when they paused for breath again. "I'm still figuring out the rules here."

"No, I'm sorry." Said Kurda, grimacing. "I acted ridiculously. I was just so upset, and I took it out on you. You were just trying to make me happy, you didn't deserve that."

"Well, you're not wrong. And people think I'M mean when I'm mad." Mika remarked, shooting Kurda a wayward smile.

"It's just so stupid. We shouldn't be this invested in a human holiday." Kurda groaned. "It's one thing to put on a show for Gracie... but..."

"It's not stupid if it makes you happy." Said Mika with a shrug. He leaned over and planted a quick kiss on Kurda's temple. "Well, maybe it is. But who cares? All I know is I'm down for anything as long as you're there with me."

Kurda stared balefully up at Mika out of those forlorn, turquoise eyes.

"When did you get so nice?" Kurda huffed at last.

"Since you corrupted my brain." Mika replied, straight-faced. "Anyway, here's the new deal: you pour me a drink, and I'll take everything off the tree so we can start from scratch. Together."

Kurda looked up at the glimmering tree, the metallic tinsel strands and battery-powered string lights looking gloriously awkward against the rest of the antiquated room. Then he looked back at Mika, eyes gleaming with amusement and trace amounts of exasperation.

"I was going to re-do the whole thing anyway." Said Kurda with a crisp smile. "While I acknowledge your intentions were pure, it's clear you had no idea what you were doing. You put the ornaments on first, didn't you?"

Mika frowned suddenly.

"I... yeah? Isn't that what you're supposed-"

"Lights, then garland, then ornaments! I tell you this every year!" Kurda chided him, trying to keep a straight face even as his body shook with barely suppressed laughter. "Come on, Mika! Gracie had a handle on it by the time she was six!"

"Must be the Smahlt side. Sorry I can't be as high-functioning as you two." Mika replied sardonically. "I've never claimed to be an interior designer. I'm just a dumb Vampire Prince, so you'll have to be patient with me."

Kurda rolled his eyes and slowly shifted his body so he was straddling Mika. He ran his hands over Mika's shoulders, up his neck, until they came to rest on either side of his face. And Mika just stared up at him with an expression so profound that Kurda didn't quite know what to make of it.

"What are you looking at?" Kurda asked, tilting his head to the side curiously. Mika smiled and shrugged, and slid one of his hands up to settle on Kurda's hipbone. But with his other hand, he reached up and brushed a strand of platinum out of Kurda's eyes.

"My whole fucking world."

Kurda had no choice but to kiss Mika with reckless abandon, otherwise he would've started crying all over again. It was reciprocated lustfully and Kurda answered back by grinding his hips against Mika's - slowly at first, a tease. Both Mika's hands were on Kurda's waist now, grip tightening as the friction increased. That was how he knew he was driving Mika absolutely crazy. But that was fine because Kurda wanted him just as badly.

His body felt electric with anticipation when Mika finally picked him up off the floor. He carried Kurda over to the thick bearskin rug near the Christmas tree, in front of the crackling fireplace and slowly laid him down there - because if that's not the textbook definition of romantic, what is?

One thing about Mika is that he always knows exactly when Kurda wants him the most. When Kurda feels like he can't possibly wait another moment, that's when the dark Prince makes a conscious decision to slow down and take his sweet fucking time, to the blond General's endless frustration. It's not that Mika can't perform well under pressure - they're both well-versed in the art of the quickie. With schedules as demanding as theirs, sometimes it's that or nothing. They had time on their side tonight, but Kurda still wished Mika would move it along.

Mika was the one straddling Kurda now, so Kurda could do nothing but watch as Mika carefully removed his signature black t-shirt and proceeded to waste about ten seconds folding the gods damned thing neatly before he set it down on the floor.

"You do this on purpose!" Kurda practically whined. Mika ignored him, and slowly unbuckled his belt and pulled it off. He then held it up and carefully examined it.

"Ugh. The leather is cracking. Look at this! I think I need a new one." Said Mika casually as he continued to gaze critically at the belt.

"Write a letter to Santa, then." Kurda growled up at him. "Just take your pants off and love me."

Mika tossed the belt aside and observed Kurda for a few seconds, his face alight with amusement as he tried not to laugh.

"You're so needy." Mika murmured, in that low, sensual way he surely knew would be the last straw for Kurda. Then Mika leaned down and kissed him again, letting his fingers get tangled up in that golden hair he loved so much.

"Christmas is a time to take care of the the needy." Kurda replied impatiently, taking matters into his own hands and fumbling with the button on Mika's pants.

Once the pants had finally been shed, Mika returned the favour by peeling off Kurda's shirt. Mika kissed him on the lips again again but didn't linger there for long. He meandered downwards at a glacial pace , leaving a trail of kisses down Kurda's neck, his chest, his stomach, then finally paused at his slender hips as Mika gently unbuttoned Kurda's pants. And then at last, those were also pulled off and discarded on the floor. Not folded.

They melted into each other's love until at long last, the only sound in the room was the crackle of the fire and the steady stream of whimpers and moans. Punctuated occasionally by breathless cuss words, or each other's names, or a combination of both.

It ended as it always did, with shuddering gasps, trembling limbs and tensing muscles. Kurda could've sworn his vision momentarily went black from the intensity of the final, mind-bending moment.

They stayed wrapped up in each other as they caught their breath. Kurda laying on his side with Mika's arms locked around him. And there was no better place in the world. Kurda didn't quite fall asleep but it was a near miss. His body was completely relaxed, limp and worn out in the best possible way. And Mika generated enough heat that he didn't even think of grabbing a blanket.

It was all too easy for Kurda to close his eyes and tune out everything except for the way Mika's hands slowly ran up and down his body, as if memorizing every curve, every rib, every muscle. Those hands that commanded the power of the vampire clan itself, those hands that could shatter an enemy's bone, or drive a a heavy, razor-sharp sword through their heart without flinching.

Those same hands that learned to swiftly braid Gracie's wisps of toddler hair without hesitation. Those hands that held onto hers, delicately as a baby bird, when they wandered around the mountain together in those early years, letting her little feet set the pace.

Those hands that could have Kurda practically crying in ecstasy and seeing stars one minute, and be lulling him to sleep the next. Just like now.

Kurda frequently gave Mika a hard time about having an ego; after all it was notorious how closely he walked the line between confidence and arrogance. But then there were moments like this, in which Kurda couldn't help but wonder if all that was just a front, if Mika had any idea how incredible he really was.

"Ready to go round two with that tree?" Kurda ventured after a while. When he didn't get a response, he rolled half-over so he could see Mika's face. Post-climatic euphoria quickly turned to alarm when he saw that Mika was brushing tears from his eyes.

"Hey, hey... what's wrong?!" Kurda asked. He rolled the rest of the way over so he could gently run his thumb beneath Mika's eye, one after the other, swiping away the tiny droplets. "You know I'm not actually that upset about the tree, right? I'm over it, I promise!" He added.

"I know." Mika replied. Although there was a hitch in his throat, his voice remained calm and even. "Fuck, I'm sorry. Nothing's wrong. The complete opposite, honestly."

"Then what's on your mind?" Kurda inquired patiently.

"At the end there, when you were squeezing my hand and saying my name as I... you know... it all just hit me." Mika's voice trailed off as he gazed back at Kurda in a way that almost seemed urgent.

"What did?"

"I just love you, Kurda. That's all. I love you so fucking much. I don't think you even know how much. I'm trying to put it into words so you understand... but I don't know how. So you're going to have to trust me when I say it's a lot."

"Babe..." Kurda exhaled the word as if it carried the weight of the entire universe.

He let out a weak laugh of relief and laid his head to rest on Mika's chest. "Of course I know. How could I not?"

"You sure?" Mika asked. Kurda frowned, and continued to stroke Mika's cheekbone with his thumb. This sudden need for reassurance was a stark contrast to Mika's default setting of cool detachment.

"You left work early - the most important job in the world - to cut AND decorate a gods-damned Christmas tree for me, on an impulse! Just because I was having a bad day and you thought it would make me happy! And that's just from today!" Kurda exclaimed. "Mika, I know you love me, and I know it's a lot. You don't need to explain it - you prove it every day."

Mika smiled wearily, and his entire body relaxed as he did so. They both slowly sat upright. Mika reached for his discarded shirt but once again he didn't move quickly enough and Kurda grabbed it and pulled it on. He flashed Mika a smug grin as his face emerged through the neck hole. Mika nodded approvingly, flickering torchlight illuminating the pure awe in his eyes.

"I've always said you look good in black." Said Mika softly.

"That's why I don't wear black." Kurda grinned, running his hand through his white-gold mane. "You'd never get anything done - you'd be too busy drooling. It'd be bad for the clan."

"Honestly? They can suck my-"

"Mika!" Kurda yelped.

"What? I don't mean literally." Said Mika, arching an eyebrow.

"I would hope not! You still shouldn't say things like-"

"I was trying to compliment you. Guess I fucked that up too." Said Mika, hitting Kurda with his most reproachful side-eye.

"My gods. You're what they call 'incorrigible'." Kurda groaned in exasperation.

"You are the only person who's ever called me that!"

"Everyone thinks it. But only I can say it."

"Know what, Smahlt? I take it back. I like my Christmas tree. If you want to decorate one, go outside and find your own."

Kurda began to laugh hopelessly. He couldn't help himself. Mika rolled his eyes, but quickly joined in. They didn't stop laughing until their ribs ached so much it became impossible to continue.

They slowly collected themselves and re-dressed. Mika tried to put on Kurda's light blue shirt, just for fun. He just managed to force his head through the neck hole before Kurda chastised him about stretching the fabric. So Mika aborted that mission and instead plucked a shirt from his own dresser.

"Alright, run this by me one more time. You get to wear mine... but I don't get to wear yours? Is that how this works?" Mika puzzled as they began un-decorating the tree.

"What's yours is mine, babe. And what's mine is also mine. Those are the rules." Said Kurda lightly as he worked to untangle a knot Mika had left in the string of garland.

"Wait. That sounds familiar." Said Mika sharply. Kurda raised his eyebrows but said nothing as Mika's mental gears turned. "...I said that to you. That time you went and opened the bottle of aged whiskey in the back of my cabinet! The one I'd been saving for my 300th birthday."

"I just wanted to try it! I let you drink my wine all the time!" Kurda protested.

"Because I like wine! You hate whiskey! You took one sip and spit it out!"

"Well, there was a note on it that said 'Arrow - if you touch this I'll break your arms' so I had to see what was so special about it. And it was disgusting." Said Kurda conversationally. "See? Two can play this game."

"Charna's Fucking Guts. Fine, I won't wear your stupid shirts." Mika grunted.

"And I won't drink your disgusting brown liquor." Kurda replied with an affirmative grin.

"I guess I should stop using your good map parchment as note paper for my meetings, then." Said Mika, not looking up from the ornaments he was collecting. Kurda went almost as red as before and rounded on Mika.

"You use my WHAT for your WHAT?"

"... And the pens."

"Mika, I swear to every god, vampire or otherwise: if I find my missing fountain pen has been sitting in the Hall of Princes this whole time, I'll poke your eyes out with it."

Mika cringed while Kurda's eyes flashed murderously.

"Is it blue?" Mika asked apprehensively.

"It is." Said Kurda.

"Silver tip?"

"Yes."

Mika looked thoughtful for a moment, then mildly concerned.

"This feels like a good time to remind you of your commitment to pacifism-"

"Mika..." Kurda growled warningly.

"Okay. I'm not saying I gave your pen to Arrow... but I am saying I gave him a pen that looked like your pen."

"MIKA!"

"What? We were in a meeting last week and he broke his pen halfway through... I wasn't NOT going to lend him one!" Said Mika defensively. "Your pen should be honoured to serve the clan."

"If that pen isn't back on my desk by tomorrow..."

"Do you really want it back? I've seen Arrow use writing utensils as toothpicks on multiple occasions."

Kurda made a wry face, and winced. But Mika wasn't fooled, the laughter from earlier still hadn't fully died from his eyes.

"I can't believe this is what my life has become." Kurda sighed. "Next time someone asks me what it's like dating a Vampire Prince, this is what I'm going to tell them about."

"Don't tell me you thought it'd be nothing but power and glory and hot sex, all day every day?" Said Mika offhandedly as he fumbled with the light strands.

"That's exactly what I was expecting." Kurda replied sardonically.

"Hey, I check all of those boxes. If the only drawback is that my coworkers chew on your fancy pens every now and then, I'd say you're still winning." Mika smirked. He dropped the lights so he could kiss Kurda again.

"Incorrigible." Kurda murmured, before getting tangled up in his other half. The tree could wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this might have been the fluffiest thing I've written yet. And at this point in 2020 I don't have an ounce of shame.
> 
> See you soon for part 3!
> 
> \- Roxy


	3. The Second First Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's alright, at least you killed the smoke alarm before the automatic timer dialed 911. Next time, use a broomstick instead of an iron blade maybe." said Gracie.
> 
> "Noted." Said Mika flatly, unable to completely squash the sting of shame that was rising up within him.
> 
> ***
> 
> Not even the War of Scars will keep Mika from spending Christmas with Gracie, especially on the first one not in Vampire Mountain. The only thing stronger than a Ver Leth, is two Ver Leths. Ohana or whatever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, folks! The final piece of the Dirty Chai Christmas Trilogy. We've covered Mika, Kurda, and Gracie doing Christmas together. We covered Mika and Kurda doing Christmas sans-Gracie in part 2. Now we circle back to the first half of Bloodline for a look at Mika and Gracie's second Christmas without Kurda, and their first Christmas outside Vampire Mountain. This one's not AS happy (thanks a lot Kurda) but I've really grown to enjoy writing interactions between Mika and Gracie now that she's a functioning adult with thoughts and opinions and plenty of inherited Ver Leth Attitude, rather than a toddler that just runs around and says a word or two every now and then.
> 
> I wrote about half of this at work this morning because there was nothing going on, and finished it stealthily on a family Zoom call because I knew if I didn't write it down in my phone THAT SECOND, it'd leave my brain forever. I can't believe I'm sitting in front of my laptop on Christmas Eve 2020, posting CDF fanfiction. It happened more than once over the years but I really thought I was done. Then 2020 happened... and here the fuck I am. Gang gang, bitch.
> 
> Enjoy!

Mika had never anticipated owning a cell phone. Nor would he admit to anyone how handy he thought it was.

It was two years after Kurda's betrayal. One year since Mika had left Vampire Mountain to join the frontlines of the War of Scars. He would spend just over five years total in the field, and in those five years he flitted off to visit his adopted human daughter whenever he had the opportunity.

The first time he visited her, she was in her first year of university and she gave him her old iPhone. She'd just gotten a new one and wanted to be able to get in touch with him. Mika internally cringed over the rose-gold metal finish, but thanked her earnestly. He really did appreciate it. He wouldn't have gotten reception anywhere near Vampire Mountain. But now that he was out and about in the world he got a signal more often than not. Mika communicated telepathically with his fellow vampires, so he only used the phone to talk to Gracie. He called once a week to let her know he was okay, (i.e. still alive) and even sent a few texts every now and then. He'd gotten pretty good at it, if he did say so himself. She gave him a solar-powered battery pack so he could charge it wherever he was, and a waterproof case. The phone was outdated by a few years but he still felt fancy nonetheless. Not to mention she taught him all the text lingo.

Mika's team was recovering from a recent scrap from the vampaneze that night. They'd won, but it had been a tough go. They'd be lying low for a few days at least, to lick their wounds and regroup. Mika was sitting by a campfire listening to Arlo and Jakob chattering when he heard a soft ding from his pocket. He quickly pulled it out to read the incoming text message. As always, he smiled to himself when he saw his daughter's name on the little screen, accompanied by the crown emoji.

Gracie: how's it going out there?

Mika: livin the dream lmao

Gracie: same. just finished my last exam!

Mika: yeah and?

Gracie: nailed it.

Mika: not surprised. proud of u. (sunglasses emoji. crown emoji.)

Gracie: thanks :) got any plans for Christmas?

Mika: when's that

Gracie: look at your phone screen...

Mika: oh shit today's the 22nd already?

Gracie: if you have nothing better to do, feel free to drop in :) Roommate is going home for 2 weeks so it'll just be me and the cat.

Mika: I'll be there!

Gracie: you sure? If it's bad timing I totally understand. Won't hold it against you if you can't make it (heart emoji)

Mika: shut up of course I'll be there (heart emoji. heart emoji. Santa Claus emoji. Christmas tree emoji).

Gracie: can't wait to see you. Safe travels xo

Mika's favourite place in the universe, besides Vampire Mountain, had to be Gracie's apartment. It was cozy yet fairly spacious, with a view that overlooked the city. It was always full of good snacks, cold drinks, soft blankets, and most importantly, Gracie was there. And currently the only bright spot in Mika's life was the fact that his daughter was absolutely slaying life. She was in first year university that year, studying law. She had her sights set on being an attorney. And Mika was more proud of her than he could ever possibly explain.

He arrived in Gracie's apartment at 11pm on December 23rd, and gave her the biggest hug he could manage, without accidentally hurting her comparatively fragile human body. And she returned it fiercely. Then she ordered pizza and they sat on the couch together, catching up. She told him all about her classes, showed him her textbooks, and introduced him to her cat, Shaughnessy. Mika wasn't a cat person, so naturally Shaughnessy made himself at home on Mika's lap. But that was fine, because when Gracie stated telling him about the part-time student internship she'd recently taken up at a nearby law firm, her excitement was so contagious Mika didn't even notice the furry behemoth purring on his legs.

Once he was caught up to date, Mika gave Gracie some updates on the clan, and the war. He was selective about what he shared with her. But after breaking the news of Kurda's betrayal years ago, he'd made a promise to be open with her. There would always be things he couldn't tell her; that was the reality of the world he lived in and his responsibility to shield her as much as he realistically could. But he couldn't keep her in the dark either. She deserved honesty.

Gracie went to bed around 2am, unable to keep her eyes open any longer. Tomorrow, she had a list of activities planned that included baking cookies and watching Christmas movies. Considering that Mika had been knee-deep in an active war zone until yesterday, those activities sounded overwhelmingly appealing - if also like something out of a fever dream. Either way, he wasn't going to complain. By Mika's nocturnal sleep schedule, it was only mid-afternoon when Gracie vacated the living room. So Mika stayed awake for a few more hours, watching the news to see what was going on in the human world. And honestly, it was such a shitshow that by the time he fell asleep (buried in fleece throw blankets on the couch) he felt a little better about the state of the vampire clan.

He slept more soundly than he had in ages, and honestly he had no idea how he was going to re-adjust to camping when he went back to the field. But that would be a problem for another day. Perhaps Gracie would let him take one of the blankets with him. She only had about twelve of them laying around.

It was the intoxicating scent of frying bacon that eventually woke him up. The clock said 7:00 am. He hadn't expected her to be up this early.

"You didn't have to make me breakfast!" He called over to her as he sat up on the couch. He was a little disoriented from the abrupt shift in his sleep pattern, as well as the rays of creeping sunlight the blinds couldn't entirely block out, but the rest of his body felt like a million bucks after a few hours of sleep on a soft surface instead of the cold, unforgiving ground.

"Good morning!" She greeted him from the kitchenette, a contented smile on her face and her Smahlt-blond hair pulled up in a messy bun. "And I know I didn't have to, but I also know you don't know how a stove works. And I'd rather not burn down the entire apartment complex on Christmas Eve."

"I know how to do bacon!" Mika protested, making his way over to join her. "I don't mind doing it myself, honestly. Let me help, at least."

"Maybe next time." She laughed, then turned slightly more serious. "Listen, I woke up to a text from my boss at the law firm. They asked me to come in for a few hours to help with some last-minute things before the holiday. Their paralegal is on vacation and the full-time working student has the flu." She said all that with a blazing shine in her eyes that was definitely not typical for a person who'd just been asked to work on Christmas Eve.

"They want you work... today?" Mika asked. Gracie arched her eyebrows and Mika almost flinched. It was like having Kurda back in the room.

"I'm hoping to get a summer job there. That would open a lot of doors in the future. For that, I'd do a lot worse than work on Christmas Eve." She replied wryly. Mika couldn't do anything but laugh.

"Wow. You're more of a Ver Leth than my actual blood relatives." He admitted.

"If that's the case, maybe you were also adopted." Gracie shot back with a grin. "Ever think of that?"

"...Eat your bacon, Gracie." Mika huffed. He grabbed a glass from the cupboard and proceeded to turn on the sink faucet.

"Don't drink the tap water!" Gracie chided him. "We're not animals. We have a Brita!" She turned the faucet off and presented him with a plastic jug she'd taken out of the fridge. Mika surveyed it warily, then glanced back at the sink.

"Is the tap water... poisonous?"

"Nah. Just tastes nasty.

"Honey, I literally drank from a stream every day this month. I'm not afraid of your tap water."

They sat down on the bar stools that lined the countertop and nibbled their way through the plate of bacon, as well as the toasted waffles she'd pulled from the freezer.

"This is the best meal I've had this year." Mika declared. He wasn't flattering her, either. It was the absolute truth.

"I love vampires." Gracie chuckled. "You're all so easy to impress. Remember when Uncle Arrow ate that stale bag of Takis I found in my backpack that summer?"

"And it was all he talked about for the rest of the month." Mika affirmed, grinning fondly at the memory. "He still brings it up every now and then. Changed his life."

"I miss the mountain." Gracie admitted. There was a sober note to her voice that hadn't been there before.

"The mountain misses you too." Said Mika, glancing over to meet her eyes. "Everyone's always asking me how you're doing."

"And what do you tell them?"

"The truth. That you're where you belong, and you're doing great things. They're all so proud of you. But not as proud as I am."

Gracie rolled her eyes and looked away from Mika. He was well-familiar with that look, seeing as he'd invented it "How dare you inconvenience me by making me acknowledge my emotions?"

"That's enough." She replied at last, a slight hitch to her voice.

"I was done anyway." Said Mika politely, crunching his way through another bacon strip. They both sat quietly for a minute or two.

"I don't want to leave you here alone all day, but I really, really want to see where this firm can take me." Said Gracie eventually. Her tone was reluctant but the determined gleam continued to burn in her eyes. "The job market is so competitive, all it takes is turning down one opportunity, and they'll move on to the next person."

"Competitive job market? Wow, I wonder what that's like." Mika answered sardonically. She laughed in exasperation and swatted his shoulder. "But seriously, if you go in and work today, make sure it's because you want to. Not because you think you have to." He added.

"That's a strange take from the world's biggest workaholic." Said Gracie, once again doing the eyebrow thing that radiated pure Kurda energy. "I've never spent more than 24 consecutive hours in the office. Can't say the same for you."

"You're not me, Gracie." Mika countered, very gently. "I want you to succeed, but let me be perfectly clear: I don't want you to turn out like me."

She rolled her eyes and popped the crispiest piece of bacon into her mouth.

"I think that ship has sailed, Dad."

"Worth a try. Either way, do what you think is best. And don't factor me into the decision." Said Mika seriously. "I'll be here for a few days. We'll have lots of time."

"You sure you don't mind staying here alone?"

"I think I can manage. At least I have Shaughnessy to talk to." Mika shrugged, gesturing at the cat who was sitting directly across from him, eyeing up the bacon in his hand.

"Fine." Said Gracie, a fiercely determined grin illuminating her face. "Shaughn, you keep him in line, alright?"

The cat meowed as if he understood her, and Gracie went off to work. Leaving Mika to roam about her apartment as he pleased. There weren't many places to roam, so he mainly stayed on the couch and visited the fridge every now and then.

It was on his fifth tour of the kitchen when he noticed the piece of paper stuck to the fridge with a magnet. By his best guess, it appeared to have been printed out from the computer. The words "WORLD'S EASIEST SUGAR COOKIES! (So easy, an idiot can do it!) - straight from Bunny's Kitchen!" were plastered across the top in a swirly font, along with the word "Pinterest".

Mika paused and read over it a few times. Although he wasn't exactly experienced in the kitchen, he was also no idiot. Overall he had a high success rate for just about everything he'd ever done. Besides, there wasn't a lot he could do for Gracie at this point in her life. She was pretty self-sufficient, all he did these days was provide moral support. That, and tuition. (Although vampires have no use for money, most have no trouble finding it when they need to).

In short, Mika couldn't think of a single good reason why he shouldn't be able to surprise his hard-working daughter with a batch of the World'd Best Idiot-Proof Sugar Cookies before she came home from work. On Christmas Eve, no less.

She already had the ingredients. Locating them was a different matter, though. Her collection of baking supplies were kept in unlabelled plastic boxes and seemed to be sorted by colour, although the actual system of the organization was unclear to Mika.

His thought process for the next hour went something like this:

\- What's the difference between baking powder and baking soda?

\- All these different white powders are NOT interchangeable, correct?

\- Are we sure? They look the same to me...

\- Why in the ever-loving fuck is this recipe prefaced with an entire page of backstory? Is this going to be relevant later?

\- Do I call Gracie to ask which white powder is which?

\- No. If I can govern a nation, I can bake some fucking cookies. Right?

\- Right?!

\- Okay. I think that's everything. Butter, salt, white powder... can't find the oil but as if one teaspoon's going to make a difference.

\- Gods, this recipe is bossy. Who cares if the butter is pre-melted? Is that not the point of the oven?

\- Who's policing this? The Bunny's Kitchen blog? Charna's Fucking Guts.

\- So you're telling me I need a second bowl? Are we not just mixing all this together in the end?

\- Fuck you. Maybe YOU need two bowls. I don't live by your rules. What are you gonna do, Bunny? Arrest me? Like to see you try.

\- I think this oven is broken. It should be hot enough by now. Maybe if I just turn the heat up a little bit...

\- Is something burning?

\- LOUD NOISES.

\- Well, fuck me sideways. This doesn't look anything like the picture.

That's the heavily abridged version of how Mika got from point A to point B. Point A being a sense of festive industriousness, and Point B being sitting on the stool staring morosely down at a pile of rock-hard blackened chunks.

Shaughnessy hopped up on the stool bedside him and meowed judgementally.

"Let's see you do better." Mika told the cat.

Shaughnessy moved in on the cookies, but all it took was one sniff for him to turn up his nose and retreat to the opposite end of the apartment.

Gracie arrived home just before 3pm, laden down with an armload of delicious-smelling brown paper bags decorated with Chinese writing.

"I made supper!" She declared triumphantly, slamming them down on the counter. "How was your day?

Mika thought about the gods-awful recipe that had surely been spawned from the depths of hell itself. Or Bunny's Kitchen. Same thing, really. He thought about the pile of charred would-be sugar cookies buried at the bottom of the garbage bin. He thought about the plastic box on the ceiling that had started screaming not long after he cranked up the heat in the oven. He honestly hadn't meant to destroy the smoke detector with his sword. That was something Arrow or Vancha would've done. He just thought maybe he could use the tip of the blade to press the button in the middle. He didn't know if that would work, but it was worth a try. The sound did stop, but only because he ended up driving his sword clean through the thing, and the shattered remains landed unceremoniously at his feet. It was back on the ceiling now, taped together. Just like new.

"My day was good." Said Mika. He was careful not to sound too evasive. Staying causal was the key.

"Yeah? Did you do anything exciting?" Gracie inquired offhandedly as she hung up her coat and took off her boots in the hallway.

"Had a nap. Watched the news. Polished my sword. Hung out with Shaughnessy. He's not a very good conversationalist."

"Really? He must not like you. He's normally very outspoken." She replied breezily as she unpacked the boxes of assorted Chinese food. "Hey, did you save me any cookies?"

Oh gods.

SHE KNOWS.

Be cool.

"What cookies?"

"Your strong poker face is no match for my security cameras, Dad." Said Gracie with a sly grin. "I have to say, watching a livestream of you trying to domesticate yourself was better than anything I've seen on Netflix this year. And best of all, it was free."

"Fuck."

"It's alright, at least you killed the smoke alarm before the automatic timer dialed 911. Next time, use a broomstick instead of an iron blade maybe."

"Noted." Said Mika flatly, unable to completely squash the sting of shame that was rising up within him.

"I just wish I had a way to distribute that footage to the entire clan!"

"Glad to know you'd be so willing to tarnish my hard-earned reputation."

"If you can't even follow a few simple instructions, is your reputation really as good as you think it is?"

"Gods, you're mean." Mika huffed, even though his eyes were gleaming fondly. "Who raised you?"

"Some cave-dwelling maniac who thinks he's above the rules." Said Gracie without hesitation.

Mika shot her a very unconvincing attempt at a stern glare. Then he grabbed a pair of wooden chopsticks and used them to deftly skewer a piece of sweet and sour chicken. Somehow, it tasted even better than it smelled.

"I'm not exactly with the times. Is this what the average Christmas dinner looks like in the human world these days?" Mika commented as they slowly made their way through the boxes of food. Gracie laughed and shook her head.

"It's not unheard of, but turkey's still the norm." She clarified.

"I like this better." Said Mika immediately.

"Me too."

"New tradition?"

"New tradition."

They put the leftovers in the fridge, and then Mika went round two with the sugar cookie recipe. This time with Gracie lurking behind him and loudly coughing every time he went to make a wrong move. This time turned out considerably better than the first attempt. She kept calling him "Ratatouille". He didn't get the reference, and she refused to elaborate.

By the time the cookies had been baked and sampled, darkness had fallen. They went for a walk around the city to admire the Christmas lights. They talked about life, school, work, friends, colleagues. And they reflected upon Christmas past:

That first Christmas as a family. Gracie couldn't remember the specifics but she clearly remembered the child-sized throne replica Paris and Arrow had given her. And she remembered having the best time. Mika told her all about how Kurda and he had spent hours running around the mountain throwing together a last-minute Christmas after realizing what day it was.

The time Gracie started questioning Santa Claus, age 7 or so. And rather than roll with it, Kurda had the idea to recruit Paris to dress as Santa and re-affirm her faith. Mika told him that was the stupidest idea he'd ever had. Kurda's face fell dramatically, and Mika went on to say that there was no way they could use Paris - Gracie would recognize him immediately. So it was Mika who recruited (i.e. ordered) the oldest, fattest, white-haired General he could find to put on the red suit and ho-ho-ho for an hour or so. Worked like a charm.

The year Gracie went on a cruise with her friend's family instead of coming home to the mountain. The experience had been wonderful, and she didn't regret going - but she missed home the entire time. And Mika told her all about his attempt to cheer Kurda up in her absence by surprising him with a pre-decorated Christmas tree - and it backfired gloriously. Gracie laughed hysterically for the entire length of a city block upon hearing the story.

They remembered the last Christmas the three of them all spent in Vampire Mountain. Nine months before that fateful council when everything changed. Mika and Kurda's relationship was already in a downward spiral at that point. But they smiled and carried on normally from the moment she arrived back in the mountain to the moment she left. They didn't give Gracie a single reason to suspect anything was wrong, and she remembered it as a picture-perfect Christmas. Mika remembered it as the year his entire face ached from the smiles he was forcing, and he knew that's how Kurda remembered it too.

But they didn't talk about Kurda on this particular Christmas. That would come with time - but they weren't there yet.

And they remembered one year ago, the first Christmas after everything fell apart. Gracie hadn't expected a single thing, but Arrow and Vanez had hauled a tree into the mountain to lift everyone's dull spirits. And Mika had gifted Gracie with a dagger that had belonged to Arra; while Larten gave Darren a sword of Gavner's. It was a sobering Christmas - but against all odds, it was a good Christmas.

But not as good as this one.

They returned to the apartment covered in a light dusting of snowflakes, and finished off the evening with a seasonally appropriate movie, which Gracie picked since Mika wasn't familiar with any of them. She chose Elf. Mika was skeptical at first, but didn't hate it. Gracie fell asleep around midnight, her head on Mika's shoulder. He wasn't quite tired enough to drift off himself, but there was a Die Hard marathon on TV - so he had no trouble remaining perfectly still on the couch so as not to disturb her. In Mika's opinion, John McClane would've made a hell of a vampire.

Christmas Morning arrived, and they sat peacefully on the floor beside Gracie's glowing tree, both with a hot espresso in hand. She'd prepared a stocking for both of them, full of various snacks. Mika hadn't been expecting it whatsoever, and he felt an undeniable childlike exuberance as he pawed through the bounty. Then in the toe of the stocking, he found a tiny little gift box with his name on it.

"Gracie, you didn't have to get me anything!"

"I didn't GET you anything. I made it."

Mika carefully opened the box and withdrew a thick strip of intricately woven black string. All at once, he was sideswiped by memories he forgot he had.

The summer Gracie was 10, she had almost half a dozen colourful friendships bracelets on her wrists at any given time. It was the trend among her classmates that year. So it was only a matter of time before she made some for her dads as well. Both Mika and Kurda put theirs on immediately, and they stayed on. As far as Mika knew, Kurda still had his - even to this day. Mika faithfully wore his for two and a half years, until one sad day when it broke during a sparring session in the sporting hall.

He'd half-jokingly asked Gracie if he could have a new one, but pre-teen trends are fleeting. By that point, making friendship bracelets wasn't "cool" anymore. Gracie had forgotten he even had it in the first place. She told Mika she "might" get around to making him a replacement, "one of these days". It never happened. Mika was always a little sad about it, but he kept it to himself. He'd hate to inadvertently cramp her style. And eventually he forgot about it.

And all of a sudden, there it was in his hands. A perfect duplicate. Better, even. The string was tougher, and the weaving was tighter than the original. This one was built to last.

Mika stared down at it, a million emotions and memories tumbling through his head. Finally, he was able to pull his eyes away from it so he could look back up at Gracie who was wearing a smug, expectant grin.

"Well?"

"About time!" Mika remarked, trying to re-gather his composure. "I thought you were never going to replace it!"

She snorted in amusement and handed him a box of Kleenex. She'd noticed the tears forming in his eyes before he did.

"Glad you like it. When I was moving in here, I found a box that had all my old ones in it from that year I kept making them. And I remembered how sad you looked when yours broke..." Gracie recounted. Her smile turned sad. "I know you asked me to make you a new one, but I didn't think you were serious."

"Of course I was being serious." Said Mika quietly. "Not that I don't already think about you at least once a minute, but it was nice having a little reminder on me at all times. And I need that now more than ever."

"Well, don't worry. That one has a lifetime warranty. If you ever need a repair, you know where to find me." Gracie replied. She blinked rapidly a few times, then leaned into Mika and he hugged her. And he hoped with all his heart she could feel how badly he wished he he could make up for everything. The mess she had to live with as a result of being a sideline spectator to the vampire clan. The damned Kurdapocalypse. She was stronger because of it, but Mika didn't think that was an even trade.

"I have something for you too." He said as they pulled apart. He hadn't planned this in advance, it was pure instinct. He hadn't known his hand was going to undo the chain he wore around his neck, and remove the thick golden ring that hung upon it. He put the chain back on but handed the ring to Gracie.

"I don't think I've ever seen this one..." she muttered in confusion, holding it up and examining it in the golden glow of the Christmas tree. "I thought you only had that one ring Paris gave you... the one Kurda wore around his neck while you were still together."

"You're right, you've never seen this one." Said Mika. "I got it as a human and I stopped wearing it after I joined the clan. I only have it with me because it's worth a lot of money now, and you never know what's going to happen in a war. Might've needed to bribe someone. So I brought it with me when I left Vampire Mountain."

"It has your last name on it!" Said Gracie, visibly awestruck. Mika loved when that rare look of youthful wonder lit up her face. He was proud that she was as shrewd and fierce like him, but he was terrified at the thought of her becoming as jaded and world-weary as he was.

"Our last name." Said Mika softly.

"Right. And what's the symbol?"

"That's the Ver Leth family crest. Crests were a big deal that century, but I don't think it's a thing anymore. But either way... I may not have chosen my biological family. But I did choose you. So you get the family ring."

"Dad... are you sure you want me to have this?"

"Completely sure. I don't have many answers these days, but I know that much. So you don't forget me while you're living your big city life." He added with a wayward smile. Gracie laughed, then shot Mika a rueful grin. She held up her arm, and pushed back the sleeve of her hoodie to reveal a string bracelet identical to the one she'd just given him.

"Already got that covered. As if anyone could forget you if they tried."

"I get that a lot." Said Mika, his signature smirk returning. Gracie rolled her eyes, but slipped the ring on with a reverential fascination. Of course it was too big for her little fingers, but it did fit her thumb alright. She'd relocate it to a chain around her neck eventually. But for now, it was exactly where it needed to be.

And so were they.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end! This miniseries was pure joy to write. I needed it badly after all the Bloodline angst.
> 
> 1) Any guesses as to who Gracie's cat is named after? ;)
> 
> 2) The cookie recipe is an actual one I found on Pinterest. I haven't tried it so I can neither confirm nor deny it'll work better for the average person than it did for Mika.
> 
> 3) The ring Mika gives Gracie is a callback to Chapter 14 (I think?) of Bloodline, in the flashback scene where he meets Paris.
> 
> 4) I'm sorry if this has more typos and stuff than normal - it's Christmas Eve bruh. It's time to shut it down and get some sleep. Santy's coming, after all.
> 
> Merry Christmas! Be safe! Wear your mask!
> 
> \- Roxy

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys liked that - I had so much fun writing it! After how heavy Bloodline has been, it felt really good to sort of turn my brain off and get back to writing what I love: things without plot.
> 
> Part 2 will be up in the coming days, maybe tomorrow. Please leave a comment if you liked part 1 enough to read this far!
> 
> \- Roxy


End file.
